Latest Site News

[JBT]

Q1) Why do you have forum rules?

Answer:
The forum rules are in place so that the people can have a good time posting and taking part in discussions that interest them in a friendly atmosphere. Respect the opinions of others, agree to disagree when differences present themselves, and never ever make things personal. Otherwise, moderators may have to step in and take action.


Q2) I should be allowed to tell other people their opinions are stupid, call them morons and state my own opinion as absolute fact, shouldn't I?

Answer:
Well, not really. It's rude for a start - don't talk down to your fellow posters, don't lecture them, and don't state your opinion as fact. If you disagree with someone's opinion or wish to point out that they've made an error, then attempt to do it without getting personal or snotty. Discussion about areas of common interest is supposed to be fun, it's not supposed to be the written equivalent of a bar fight.

If you're having a problem keeping your temper under control, take a deep breath, and refrain from posting a reply until you do. Flaming other poster's opinions on a regular basis will only end badly for you.


Q3) Why can't we talk about the site/forums issues on the forums themselves?

Answer:
This is simply because it's not really the place for such discussion to take place. Examples of the type of threads which fall under this area would be any thread that involves Appreciation/Depreciation of Members, complaints about the general atmosphere, site policy or moderator/admin actions, whining or querying about a thread which has been closed or removed, or a new thread which attempts to undermine the discussion going on in another thread. These type of threads will either be closed or removed.

The reason that we ask posters not discuss the these topics on the forums is that this is a site about particular interest (be it music, charts, movies or television), and the discussion in each forum should remain pretty much about those things. Once the discussion veers away from those particular themes , and starts being about the site, each other, and personal feelings about others, then the site will almost certainly fall apart. It will be nothing more than an internet chatroom. If you really want to get to know other posters more personally, then feel free to PM them, email them, or chat to them on MSN.


Q4) if I can't post on the boards to tell a moderator that their actions/decisions are rubbish, how can I make my point?

Answer:
If you have a genuine grievance, wish to discuss a moderator's actions or are unhappy with any decision taken, then feel free to contact in the moderator in question via PM and attempt to resolve the issue that way. Bear in mind that the moderators will be closely following the site rules that are contained here, so don't expect a long debate on a clear cut issue of moderation. The moderators word is final and any further attempt to waste moderator's time will be given further warnings and/ or suspensions.

Q5) I can't really be bothered to make any effort to type properly so everything I post is in all lowercase or uppercase, and I'm so used to writing my messages the same way you would if you were on a mobile usiing text talk, that I'm just going to do the same here. That's okay, isn't it?

Answer:
Not really. The vast majority of posters do not like it, and many will skip over what you have to say if it's so difficult to read. It's not like you have to spell everything correctly and get all your punctuation in the right place etc, but do make an effort to make posts that people will be able to read and understand easily enough.


Q6) Isn't posting messages like "I agree!" "Yes" or posting a response that contains only a smiley or "LOL" a great way to get involved in discussion?

Answer:
Not as such. It is the intent of Buzzjack.com to have quality discussion about the topics contained in the forums, so we'd like to encourage people to contribute with well formed opinions if they can. If you can't back up that "I agree!" with something of substance that adds to the discussion, then it's probably not necessary to post it.



Q7) Why have some of the words in my post been blanked

Answer:
Certain words may have been censored by the administrator. If your posts contain any censored words, they will be blanked-out like this: ****.

The same words are censored for all users, and censoring is done by a computer simply searching and replacing words.



Q8) I have a really great site of my own. Can I post asking people to check it out?

Answer:
Nope. If it's a good site, then chances are that people will already be aware of it, or have mentioned it in passing. Anyone who makes a post in order to advertise their own site or a site that they have a vested personal interest in will have that post removed, and are likely to receive an official warning.


Q9) I found an article that relates to a topic currently being discussed . Can I cut and paste it on the forums for others to read?

Answer:
It would be best to link to the article, as it's copyrighted material and cannot be reproduced elsewhere without permission.


Q10) What's this Personal Message (PM) thing all about?

Answer:
Your Buzzjack.com account includes a personal messenger with an unlimited storage amount. Users have the option to ban any member and this service remains unmonitored.


Q11) Okay, so I can't tell people about that great website I own on the forums, but I can PM them, right?

Answer:
The same rule regarding links in the forums applies to the PM service - you are not permitted to use this service to excessively promote your own website for your own personal gain, this includes links to information which may influence the popularity of a Buzzjack feature such as 'early Sunday Chart information'�. You can post links to sites which complement Buzzjack.com such as your own personal site or an already established website.


Q12) So if my PM service is unmonitored, then surely I can just advertise my website without you knowing?

Answer:
We reserve the right to investigate your personal message service but only if you are suspected to have used Buzzjack.com in order to excessively promote your own site or to negatively impact upon us. This is extremely unlikely ever to happen to the vast majority of users, and this measure were to be taken, you would be notified of our intention to do so in advance.


Q13) I do not like "Person X", they keep winding me up on the MSN messenger service and I do not wish to communicate with them anymore on Buzzjack.com. What can I do?

Answer:
Buzzjack.com will not be held accountable for any problems that may arise outside the remit of this site such as personal issues. If a member registers on this site and you do not wish to communicate with them, you can ban them from sending you any Personal Messages (PMs). You should also refrain from replying to any posts they make in the forums. If they post a thread in the forums in order to personally contact you and you do not wish to speak to them, then contact the forum moderator or an administrator and request that the post/thread be removed. Please also provide a link to the post/thread in question.


Q14) What is that little "warn level" thing under my username?

Answer:
The user warning system is a function that puts a user on notice for doing things that are wrong but not ban-worthy. It also allows one moderator to see whether another moderator has also addressed a poster issue, and when, so that the poster doesn't get warned more than once for one particular offence.

Every user starts with a warn level of 0%. Users can only see their own warn levels. To see the reason for a warn, click on the "X%" link after "Warn." It will show a pop-up where the moderator who warned you will have entered a reason at the time of your warning.


Offences which would normally result in a warning would be:

repeatedly ignoring the rules that forbid use of "text talk"
a public display of racism
a public display of homophobia
sexually explicit content
personal discrimination
threatening messages, abusive or personal attacks against other members, moderators and administrators

Please be aware that if you are warned about this sort of behaviour and ignore the warnings, then it will not be long before your warning level reaches 100% and will find yourself facing a temporary account ban of between 1 week and 1 month (the duration of will at the mod's discretion, and based on the history of warnings). Don't post on the boards to protest a warning, as that will just result in you receiving another warning.

A warning level can be reduced 1 month after the specific warning was given, though it is up to the poster to contact that moderator to ask to have the level reduced.



Q15) I got banned?! Without prior warning?

Answer:
If that happens, it will have been for one of the following reasons -

registering with the sole intent of discrediting administrators or moderators
registering solely to promote your own site or to undermine the success of Buzzjack.com
registering multiple accounts
extreme displays of racism, homophobia or other forms of discrimination
linking to pornographic or illegal material
promotion of any form of illegal sex.

And if that's the case, then you do not belong on this site, which is why you've been immediately banned without prior warning of any of the aforementioned offences.


Q16)What is a troll and how do I report them?

Answer:
A troll - someone who stirs up trouble for the fun of it - is generally regarded as someone who posts offensive messages only to get others annoyed, posts the same thing over and over again to take up space or to boost thier post count (spamming) and ruin the flow of the forums, posts only to advertise some other site, or who starts posting insults in the hope that people will take the bait and get into a "flame war" with them.

A troll is not someone who happens to disagree with you in relation to a valid discussion or topic in the forums, even if their opinion is totally opposed to yours and pisses you off.

There is a thread in the feedback forum where you can link to troll activity if you spot it. By doing that, you will be providing the Administrators and Moderators with valuable in keeping the site ticking over smoothly and maintaining a good atmosphere between genuine posters.


Q17) What about the off-topic discussiona area? Surely the rules will be relaxed slightly there?

Yes, they will. Obviously, because it's a general discussion area where people will be talking about themselves and their everyday life etc, there are bound to be personality clashes occasionally. Moderators won't step in if people have a disagreement, unless it goes too far or becomes extremely repetitive and starts going in circles. Sometimes people will disagree, and as long as a poster isn't being attacked or targeted for no apparent reason, moderators won't be likely to intervene either.

There will obviously be some banter, and sometimes people might take offence at certain posts - if this happens to you, take a step back and think about whether something was posted in good humour or not. If a discussion doesn't interest you or it's something you clearly aren't going to be interested in or enjoy, then don't take part in it. There will still be certain rules that will be firmly applied. Such as -

- Starting threads to complain about administrator or moderator actions/policies, or about the general atmosphere. These will be deleted without warning. If you have a problem, PM an admin.mod to voice your grievance. Starting threads like this just generates a bad atmosphere and stirs up bad feeling.

- Starting up attention seeking threads such as "I'm leaving" etc or threads about the same subject repeatedly. These are very annoying, and will be clsoed or deleted. If anyone posts more than 1 "Leaving" thread without having actually left, then they'll get their wish through an enforced ban.

- Threads that are started up in order for a small number of people to have an MSN style chat will be closed. That's what MSN is for, after all.

- Overtly crude or very explicit discussion about sexual subjects won't be welcomed. It's something that everyone does in adult life, and it's something that everyone is free to discuss - but it must be kept within the realms of good taste. If several threads about sexual subjects are started in quick succession or if a poster starts mainly this type of topic only, the threads are likely to be closed. It's still a general discussion area, not an adult entertainment forum.

- Anybody who signs up to "troll" the forum (post solely to start arguments, get an extreme negative reaction ro generally stir up bad feeling) will receive 1 single warning then a ban without warning.

- Anything else other that falls under the Instant Banning criteria will be enforced in the same way as it would be in all other forums on the site.